Chapter 1A Chapter by RedMistressThe
sky was dark, the wind was cold and the rain was bent on pouring. His breath
was shallow, his lungs were burning, his legs could barely hold him but
stopping was out of the question. When the sound of dogs barking reached his
ears he snapped his head back peering through the darkness torn between the
need to see those that were chasing him and the hope that there was enough
distance between him and his chasers that he wouldn’t see them. For a brief
moment his steps faltered thinking that his eyes were deceiving him but just
then a cloud moved out of the moon’s path its light revealing his chasers in
all their despicable glory. He slowed down filled with confusion. He took in
their rotting flesh, the sharp black teeth of their hounds, their burning red
eyes and their strange attire. He’d dealt with them before, they were already
dead. So why was it that they were chasing him now in a forest that had been
long since replaced by a very large city? He came to a complete stop, turning
around to face them. If he had stopped them once he could do it again. A
strange laughter came from nowhere in particular and seemed to wrap around him
like a blanket. He looked around but there was no one else there and strangely
enough even the walking rotting corpses and their dogs were gone. He was once
again alone. Then the whispers started. They were coming from everywhere,
getting louder each second, mingling with heavy, rhythmic footsteps as if an
army was gradually approaching. The noise became too much, so he covered his
ears in a futile attempt to make it stop. He was getting dizzy and everything
started spinning at an impossible rate. Then just like that it stopped. He
hadn’t noticed that he’d closed his eyes, but when he opened them everything
was eerie quiet and it was even darker than before. He could suddenly sense the
smell of fresh grass and wet earth, the cold air chilling him to the bone, but
the wind had stopped its hauls and the rain was almost gone. There was a dark
figure in front of him as far as he could tell, but it was not moving. A
thunder crossed the sky and for the split second it was all as clear as day.
The army was indeed there, swords and bows drawn all aimed at him. The soldiers
were tall and big, their helmets hiding their faces, but the design of the
armor as well as its deplorable state, spoke of a race that no one regardless
of species would want to cross paths with. He turned his attention to the dark
figure in front of him. It still had not moved.
Even though he could not see any distinguishing features, he felt no
sense of danger coming from it, like with the rest of the army. The next flash
of lightning however revealed a motion in the one before him that left him
staring down the barrel of a gun.
He
didn’t move or make any attempt to answer. He was paralyzed, as if something
was holding him in place, making sure he would not dodge the bullet. ‘You
think she won’t do it’ this time it was a statement uttered on a mocking tone and
indeed he had yet to feel fear towards the figure that stood before him. It
was then that the strangest thing happened. Someone licked his cheek. There was
no one around and looking back in front of him it happened again. The figure in
front of him took the gun’s safety off and he saw a pair of silver eyes staring
at him with sadness. “I’m
sorry” she whispered and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit his chest and he
felt that tongue on his cheek again. He snapped his eyes
open and tried to jump out of bed, ready to tackle whoever was there, but his
legs got tangled in one of the sheets and he fell to the floor. A cat hissed at
him from the other edge of the bed and getting into a sitting position he
hissed back glaring at it. After a short staring contest between the two, which
the cat obviously won, he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
The cat hissed again
but then approached him cautiously. He stretched a hand and scratched it for a
little while, then got up looking pointedly at the mess his bed was in. The cat
purred at his feet as if trying to sooth him, and then gave a weak meow. -
Don’t worry Ben, it’s not like my
nightmares will come true. They’re just that, nightmares and they will stay in
dreamland. I just…For once I wish I could have a nice dream, instead of these
freaky ones. I’m not even asking for a beautiful one, just a good one you know,
where no one is chasing me or trying to kill me, he followed the cat into the
kitchen. It was still dark
outside, not that it was a surprise for him. He rarely got up after the sunrise
and those were very special occasions. Walking slowly through the kitchen he
took out the cat food from one of the cabinets and made sure that Ben’s bowl
was full, then proceeded to grab a glass of water for himself. He walked
through the living room, and headed to his office. Once there he started his
computer and tapped patiently on the desk until it came on. He started his
usual routine checking his messages, then answering the most urgent one first.
Scrolling through the short list one in particular caught his attention. He
liked keeping in touch with his contacts, it was a sure way to get good
information on time, but this one had been off the radar for a very long time.
He opened the e-mail and read a surprisingly short content “To: Damian Mason A. K.
fishing. M.” Damian frowned at the number of words, but was not going to
complain since the man had bothered to give him a heads up. By now Benjamin was
scratching at the door to be left outside, so he got up to indulge the cat. -
Just be careful, we have company, he
warned Ben opening the door. He was just about to go back inside when a strange growling
noise made him stop. Still barefoot and only wearing a pair of sweats
Damian climbed down the few steps from his apartment and walked to the end of
the alley that opened to the road. It was quiet now and still deserted, but on
the other side in the shadows there was something moving and he wanted to know
what. Quickly considering his options, he jogged across the street and slowly
advanced through the shadows. A few steps into the alley he spotted a small child
hiding behind a dumpster, which raised the question what was he doing there.
Taking another step forward he noticed the lack of clothing on the said child
which only confused him more, however the thud that came from the alley
entrance snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned around. He instantly
glared at the newcomer. One thing Damian knew for sure was that he’d never been
a fan of people that collected muscles like others collect stamps. And this guy
had a vast collection. -
“Well, well, well! What do we have
here? the man said -
Save it Kendrix, I haven’t done
anything to deserve to be hunted, Damian replied not bothering to hide his
dislike for the man. -
Aren’t we a bit full of ourselves! Sarcasm
poured out the man’s mouth, what makes you think I’m here for you? Damian considered that for a moment. -
He is only a child! He finally
stated. -
Are you sure about that? Kendrix
asked in turn his gaze moving above Damian’s head. It was only then that Damian registered the low growl that
came from behind him. He turned around very slowly only to stare up at an 8
foot creature that resembled a slug to a disturbing degree. He took a cautious
step away his 6 1 height and lean body, seeming rather small in comparison. -
You might want to get out of the
way, princess, Kendrix advised. While the nickname annoyed him, the advice was extremely
sound and he did just that. In less than a second he was next to Kendrix and
was eyeing him up and down thoroughly. -
We can kiss and indulge later right
now I’d rather get rid of this thing first. Damian rolled his eyes. This was another reason why he
couldn’t stand the man. -
Tell me you have a Belcroux blade. -
This is not my first party you know?
Kendrix pointed out already attacking the creature. -
I meant for me, Damian mumbled. When Kendrix ended up at his feet with a split bottom lip,
Damian just smiled at him and retrieved the blade from the man’s reluctant
fingers -
Watch and learn” he threw over his
shoulder. Damian quickened his step until he became nothing but a
blur. He raised the sword ready to strike when the creature changed its shape
again, reverting to that of the little boy from before. He stopped staring into
those innocent and radiant blue eyes for a moment then smirked. -
Nice try! In a flash the blade had cut through live tissue with a
deadly precision and the head of the creature fell to the ground rolling away.
The sizzling sound that followed got Damian to snap his head around where his
enemy’s body now lay stretched on the ground bubbling up as if to… -
Oh shi… The last of that sentence was lost when the body of the
creature exploded, throwing Damian against the wall. His body slid down the
bricks and he was motionless for some time. Kendrix had managed to get out of
the way, mostly, and was now coming closer to assess the damage, still whipping
a trail of slime of his left sleeve. Damian moaned registering the pain in his
head and back. Saying that he was feeling like a squashed bug was a severe
understatement on his part, but his throbbing head was limiting his trail of
thoughts. -
Good job princess! Next time though,
you might want to try not to blow yourself up in the process, he laughed. -
It’s dead, isn’t it? Damian mumble,
picking himself up He looked down at himself and wrinkled his nose in disgust
at the green and yellow slime that covered him from head to toe. -
Oh man! This is going to take for
forever to wash off! He tried to get as much off as he could right then,
without much success. -
What the hell was that? he looked at
Kendrix -
No clue. I’ve been tracking it for
weeks now. It had its share of fun before you took it out. For once Damian saw the man being serious which was as
disturbing as a live grenade in a kindergarten. -
Weeks? I thought you were supposed
to be a gifted hunter Adrian? He teased the man trying to ease the sudden
tension. Kendrix didn’t answer, just gave him a thoughtful look. -
You don’t seem surprised to see me?
Did you at least bake me some cookies while you were waiting for me? Damian clenched his fists to his sides and tried to take a
deep breath. Instead he just managed to inhale a bit of the slime and started
spitting. -
Whoa there sunshine! Don’t get all
choked up over me, I’m not going anywhere, the man patted Damian on the back. -
Wh-what? Why? He managed to get out
between coughs. -
Oh I missed you too! Besides it
seems your senses have grown dull over the years old friend. You might need
some help staying alive these days. -
Friend? Damian managed to ask
without coughing, you wouldn’t recognize a friend even if one hit you in the
face with a shovel, not that I would ever be that lucky, he finished mumbling
the last part. Adrian just laughed at him and once again patted him on the
back. Damian glared briefly and headed back home, with the hunter right on his
heel. -
So…, he started just as the door
closed behind them, what do I have to do to get rid of you? -
You manners astound even me, he
smiled for a moment, but just like that it vanished. Actually I’m not here on
official business. We haven’t had any of that in a while now, he stated gravely -
Haven’t had what? -
Official business, then, probably
seeing the confusion on the other man he added, I haven’t been on a mission in
about 3 months now. -
Maybe they finally decided it was
time for you to retire. Kendrix scoffed. -
A. I’m not THAT old and B. I’m not
the only one. Blade was actually the last one to receive a mission as far as we
know and he never came back. That was nearly 2 months ago and he’s never been
the type to be out of touch, he frowned. To make matters worse, they didn’t
seem to care. Some of us tried to go find him, but they said that if we tried
anything we would end up on the ‘Most Wanted’ list instead. That caught Damian’s attention. -
So what brings you to my doorstep
then? -
Officially, I’m off on rest
leave…between you and me, I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on
and stay alive at the same time. To be honest it’s not necessarily you I came
to find, although any information would be helpful at this point, but that
thing whatever it was came here with a purpose. It usually stayed outside the
city, but as soon as it arrived here it went straight for this place. So… -
So it’s either me or something here
that drew it to this part of the city. He thought about it for a second. Still,
there is nothing out of the ordinary to look for here, only a bunch of
dilapidated buildings, and the homeless people that take residence in them. As
for me, I can’t think of a single thing I’ve done in the past few years to
raise as much as an eyebrow. -
I can assure you, something is
definitely wrong, Adrian frowned looking Damian straight in the eyes. -
As much as I can’t stand you, I do
trust you. He paused. Well I desperately need a shower…or ten and you look like
crap. So why don’t you clean yourself up as well, then get some rest. We can
talk later. I’ll poke around and see what comes to the surface. -
Thanks, I really appreciate this,
the hunter said giving a curt nod. -
No problem, just pick one of the
guestrooms and take up residence there, he turned around leaving Adrian near
the front door. © 2015 RedMistressAuthor's Note
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